Day 23

Last night we ended up with 2 roommates. One guy who never talked, and an Australian woman from Tasmania. We had a nice dinner with her at the bar/restaurant with WiFi (Its pronounced WeeFee here. It’s fun to say). Dinner was a delicious trout.  I ordered before our Tasmanian friend joined us.  When she ordered they said they were out.  Then they said it would take an hour.  She said OK.  We think they went out to the stream to catch it. Hers was delicious, too.

We got up this morning to a steady light rain.  It pretty much stayed that way all day, so was kind of a damp clammy day.

Moss on trees. 

Today we climbed the mountain. Yesterday I said we did 1,000 ft gain, but that was just up and down on the foothills. There wasn’t a net gain. Today we did it.  2,400 ft gain up to O Cebreiro.

Main St in Ambasmestas.

Most of the morning was walking along country roads.  In the afternoon the trail cut into the woods on steep rocky paths.  With all the rain they became pretty muddy.  There was horse traffic, too.  We didn’t see the horses, but saw lots of horseshoe prints in the mud.  That mixed with the other evidence of horse made for a mucky stinky soup that provided a great medieval travel experience.

Foggy before the snow.

Near the top we crossed from Castillo & Leon into the region of Galicia. As we approached the top the rain turned to sleet, and then into snow.  It was great.

Walking thru a winter wonderland.

We proceeded from O Cebreiro another 3 mi to Hospital da Condesa. We checked into the municipal albergue.  20 beds.  We have 6 roommates so far.

There is one restaurants/bar in town.  It has WeeFee, so we sit here drinking wine, writing the blog, and watching the snow fall.  We think we understand that dinner is served at 6 or 6:30, more or less, depending on how they feel.  We got here at 4:45.  They fill the wine glasses full here.

Day 22

Left Ponferrada this morning and headed back into the foothills. Covered 15 mi and about 1,000 ft of elevation.  Tomorrow we will go up another mountain pass for our last major climb.

Rush hour this morning.

First pilgrims we have seen on horseback.

The rain came and went in bands throughout the day, so we put on and took off rain gear 3 times.  In the early part of the day we passed thru a wine region, so there were lots of vineyards, wineries, and one town was advertising their annual wine festival.

Vineyards.

Villafranca del Bierzo 1.

Villafranca del Bierzo 2 - castle.

Pilgrim statue

Under 200 km.

We ended up in the small hillside village of Pereje.  There is one municipal albergue.  There is one bar/restaurant.  When you walk in the albergue there is a sign telling you to go the bar for check-in.  The bartender takes you back to the albergue to finish check-in. When you ask the bartender (who is now at the albergue checking you in) if there is a store in town she says no, but they do have some items like snacks you can buy at the bar.  We told her we would see her soon for drinks, dinner, and supplies.

We looked around the albergue before we talked to the bartender.  There were lots of boots lined up, and when we opened the door to the room with 12 beds we only saw one empty.  We then went to the bar to ask the bartender if there were 2 beds available, she said,”of course”.  After check-in she led us to a second room.  This one also had 12 beds, but we were the only ones there.  If no one else comes in tonight we might end up with another private room.  Cost - 5 euros ea.

Our private room tonight.

A couple days ago we meet an older couple from Toronto. They are our new record holders for the oldest people we have met doing the Camino.  She is 79, he is 81.  She is dealing with a pain in her heal.  I told him they doing a great pace.  He said she was holding him back. They do 20 km per day.  They started in Saint Jean Pied de Port one week earlier than us.

We also stopped to rest at the top of a hill where we talked with Ray.  He is 64 from Pasadena.  Said he had heart surgery 3 yrs ago. Double bypass, valve replaced, aorta repaired.  Feeling gr3at, doing great.  Has walked 1,500 mi on various Camino routes since.  Says it gave him a chance to reevaluate things.

Day 21

Today we came down another 1,500 ft into Ponferrada. It was a great day. No rain, cool weather, only 11 mi. The trail was still steep and rocky.

We got in to town about 2 pm and had a relaxing day touring and wandering around.

Walking thru smalll mountain village.

Ponferrada city gate.

Knights Templar castle in Ponferrada

Memorial to pilgrim who died in route.  We have seen about a dozen of these so far.

Closer everyday. 210 km to go.

Check in at St. Nicholas albergue.  178 beds. Donation only. We got assigned a 4 person room. 

We were the only ones in it!

Day 20

Map for Days 14 - 20

Day 14  - Carrion de los Condes to Sahagun

Day 15 - Sahagún to Reliegosd

Day 16 - Reliegos to Leon

Day 17 - Rest day in Leon

Day 18 - Leon to Villavante

Day 19 - Villavante to Murias de Rechivaldo

Day 20 - Murias de Rechivaldo to El Acebo

In the mountains now. Ponferrada in the distance, 3,000 ft down.

Today we went up the mountain with about 1,700 ft elevation gain.  At the top is the Iron Cross at 4,500 ft. It is the highest point on the Camino.  Snow on the mountain tops in all directions.  At the base of the Iron Cross is a pile of rocks left by pilgrims.  The rocks are supposed to be brought from their homeland.  Leaving one there absolves the pilgrim’s sins.  We forgot our rock from Sun Prairie, so we had to borrow Spanish rocks.

Iron Cross at summit.

We originally planned to stay the night at a village on the mountain, but the forecast called for scattered thunderstorms tomorrow, so we pushed on a bit for another 8 mi. and came down 1,500 ft in elevation.  Along the way we passed the smallest village in Spain - 1 driveway (no electricity or plumbing, but an authentic latrine). Sue said we could no stay there tonight.

Smallest village in Spain. No plumbing.

The terrain both up and down

The path was really rocky and pretty treacherous both going up and down.  At one point Sue caught her boot on a rock.  I saw her go down, first one leg and then the other onto the rocks.  I thought that was it.  Broken leg.  We were 1 mi from the guy with no plumbing, and 3 mi from the next town with no one else on the trail. But, she recovered. One bloody knee  and a big welt on the other leg, but nothing broken.  We hobbled into the next town about 2 hrs later.

Looking east from where we came.

Snow out there.

Mountaintop town of Foncebadon.

Crosses made of sticks in fence. Went on for 2 km.

Sue with Charlemagne and falcon.

Famous cowboy bar.

Home for the night.

Blister maintenance.

Day 19

Today was a wonderful day.  We left Villavante with a destination of Astorga, just 15 mi away.  Astorga is a pretty good sized town with a major medieval cathedral,  a newer Gaudi cathedral, it was a major city in the history of the Camino, and it is known for chocolates and pastries.

We both felt good. The trail was good.

Today we finally made it through the meseta and entered the foothills of the mountains of Leon.  Tomorrow we will begin climbing to make it up to the first of two passes.  The landscape is changing from airid flat farmland to a few trees, some scrub brush and some rolling hills.  It’s nice to finally have something on the horizon to see.

A few miles from Astorga we came upon a pilgrim oasis.  In the middle of no where on the trail (litterally 5 mi from anything), was Dave. He had a building at the top of a hill, and a place set up with everything a pilgrim could want - water, coffee, 12 kinds of juices, milk, fresh fruits, dried fruits, breads, candies, nuts, and on and on.  He had places to sit and relax.  He had a bathroom.  He had hammocks.  Everything free.  He greeted people and said, “The Camino provides”.  People asked if they could donate and he said, “No.  But if you want to make a gift, there is a box over there. It is not necessary.  The Camino provides.”

Dave at the pilgrim oasis.

I asked him if he was in the movie.  He asked me which one, and named two.  I said, no, the movie “6 ways to Santiago”.  He said,  “Yes, I think so.  I have been in many movies”.  The depth of this selflessness is so hard to comprehend.

We continued on to Astoga.  We caught up with Kevin and Robin from Superior and walked into town with them.  They planned a lunch of local delacacies of like blood sausage & pig’s snout and pig’s stomach.  We were looking for pizza. Kevin does some taxidermy work, so that may explain it.

Astorga was great.   In Plaza Mayor we met several Camino friends, including Maggie with the blisters and Dr. Ed.

Plaza Mayor, Astorga.

Cathedral, Astorga

Gaudi Cathedral, Astorga.

At first we planned to stay in Astorga for the night, but then added some distances for tomorrow.  We will go into the mountains, and want to stay near the top, so we needed to put on a few miles yet today.  We toured the Cathedral and museum, got some chocolates, then headed out of town for another 4 mi.

Tonight we are staying in Murias de Rechivaldo. It’s a nice albergue run with a lot of Brazillian staff.  Dinner was vegetarian.  We sat with a tree-cutter from central France, his wife; and a German woman.  The German woman grew up in Eastern Germany.  She had a best friend who died 2yrs ago.  The friend had a dream to do the Camino, so now the German woman is doing it for her friend.  The husband thinks she is crazy.

Another great day. Another great group of people.

Vegetarian dinner in the albergue.

Sunset tonight.

Tomorrow we go into the mountains.

Our path tomorrow into the mountains.

Day 18 - back on the road

We left Leon this morning and continued west thru the meseta.  It was a hard day for some reason. The weather was great and the road was fine, but I developed various aches and pains that occupied my thoughts and took away from the journey.

 Meditating at the start of the day.

It took about 2 1/2 hours to get out of the metro area. Just after we started I developed a pain in my left shin.  The first dose of Tylenol didn’t have any effect, so I took more.  When that passed my anckles started hurting.  Both.  Just really sore and bothersome.

At about 9:30 we stopped for an espresso, a coke, and a chocolate croissant; then we pressed on. 2 mi later we entered a small town where a man had set up a rest stop for pilgrims in his front yard.  Everything free. Leave a donation if you want. Juice, snacks, coffee, etc.  He had a stamp for our credentials., and a map of the world where you put a dot from where you were from.  He even had a tent in the front yard with a bathroom inside.  He invited us to take off our backpacks and rest for awhile. We thanked him and moved on.  The next town was only 3 mi away and our plan was to stop for eggs there.

While my anckles were still aching my back started hurting, like a pinched nerve. I just couldn’t move in a way to get comfortable. I was relieved when we got to town.  We stopped at the cafe. There were 2 pilgrims sittting at chairs but the doors were locked. The cafe was closed.  There were 2 cafes in town.  Both closed.  Now I didn’t like the town.

Walking thru canola fields.

A woman came down the street to explain that it was Wed, so the cafes were closed.  Now I didn’t like Wednesday’s, either. The ankles and the back still hurt, I didn’t get my eggs, and I kinda coulda used a bathroom.  We pushed on to the next village.  It was only 3 more miles.


Half way there there was a rest area.  There were shade trees and benches.  It was a welcome break and I got to stretch my back.  The next town was in sight and I was ready for some lunch.  As we entered town there was a sign listing services.  Cafes were on the list.  Things were looking good, and my ankles were feeling better.  We came, we saw, we went. There were no cafes or any other stores.  Actually on the way out of town there was a farm implement place that had walking sticks and hats for sale, but that was about it.  They didn’t have eggs or bathrooms.  Now I didn’t like this town and I especially didn’t like the sign leading into the town, and my back hurt.  The next town was 7 mi. So we went.

Most of the day we were walking on the side of country roads.  They were paved, so it was nice and there was very little traffic. The traffic that did come by was John Deere tractors which was neat, but we had to step off the road to let them pass.  I didn’t like that. Every tractors driver waved to us as they went by.

They grow fields of rocks here.

We were moving fast now.  We passed Ohio, Austria, Poland, and our Cheesehead friends, a couple from Superior (yes, we finally found fellow cheeseheads).  We could see the next town in the distance, just off to the right; or so we thought.  When we got close to the road leading into town our arrows told us to keep going straight on a new path cut into the brush.  It was nice there was a new trail, but there was no village in sight, and the new path was riddled with rocks such that it was impossible to set a foot down on a flat surface.  I cursed the rocks, and the trail, and the town we passed that should have been our destination. In the middle of all this I noticed my back stopped hurting.  Nothing actually hurt anymore.  The sun was hot, I was still hungry, but nothing hurt.  That was nice.

Still in the meseta, but you can see the mountains of Leon in the background.  

We are heading that way.

We had another 45 min to town, so I had time to think about my curious state of mind.  I had everything I had wanted. I was walking across Spain with my best friend on an amazing pilgrimage.  Why was I angry at so many things?  My petty inconveniences had nothing to do with the Camino, they were the Camino.  There was nothing to fix.  There was nothing wrong with the villages, or the roads, or the cafes, or the tractors.  They were there every day doing their thing just as they were supposed to be doing. There was nothing to change.  I chose to do this, just as millions of others had for the past 1,200 yrs. It’s  not Disney World.  No one had asked me what they could do to make things better, and I have yet to see a suggestion box. This is all there is.

We arrived in Villavante about 4pm.  Villlavante is a very small farming village like the ones we passed thru earlier.  We stopped at the first place open for a cold drink and to use the restroom.  It was the first albergue we found.  We decided to stay there.  Good thing because it was the only one in town. We booked dinner there, too. Good thing because it was the only place in town for that, too.  We showered, did laundry and walked around town.  The walk took 5 min, the highlight being the water tower. On the way we stopped in at the only other bar in town.  There was not another person there.  We got a frozen popsicle.  It didn’t have an expiration date, but it could have been there from the Middle Ages.  It was great.

Dinner was terrific.  We sat with two women, a cook from the Netherlands and a librarian from
London.  Wonderful evening, wonderful people, great way to end the day.  Looking forward to another adventure tomorrow.

Lighting candles along the way

Before we left on our trip we put together a list of all the people we had known who had passed away over the past couple years. Family, friends, and acquaintances.  Unfortunately the list is kind of long.

Along the Camino, as we pass churches, if they are open we go inside. In the small towns most churches are locked, and some are abandoned. In medium sized towns and in the larger cities we can generally get inside at least one.  Sometimes the entrance is free and sometimes they ask for a small donation.

We have made a point to light a candle in each one.  We dedicate the candle to someone who is no longer with us. It is a nice moment to remember that person - things we said or didn’t say, things we did or didn’t do, things that person did for us, or said to us, or some other special memory. It’s hard to accept that they are no longer here. It’s hard to understand why we will never be able to talk with them again or see them again.  We hope we did not let them down and that maybe we made them proud.  We get a lot of time to think about this as we walk.

So another day, another church, another candle, and a long list.

But we have also not forgotten those of you still living.  If you are reading this you are probably in line for a candle yourself. Things we said or didn’t say, things we did or didn’t do, or something else between you and us that allows us to take a moment and offer our thanks and ask your forgiveness.

It’s really a good thing there are a lot of churches along this route because this list is pretty long, too.

One final thought about candle lighting - Even though the churches are really, really old; that has not stopped technology from creeping inside.  About half the candle areas are now electronic.  You drop in a coin, a bank of fake candles flashes a few times, then one automatically stays lit.  We try to reserve the real candles for the really big forgivenesses.  If we haven’t done that much bad to you, you will probably only get a fake candle.

If we can’t really remember what it was we did so you need a candle at all, then you will be bundled into the economy-fake-candle-lighting.  1 coin lights 5 fake candles. Our thoughts are with you all the same.

The scallop shell - Symbol of the Camino

The Camino de Santiago is not just one route.  It is many.  All routes lead to the same destination, Santiago de Compostella in the north west of Spain.  You can  start in England, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Spain, Portugal, and everywhere in between.

Map of various routes of the Camino.

The route we are doing is the Camino Frances.  It is the most famous and the most popular, and it is the one depicted in the Marin Scheen movie, The Way.

The scallop shell represents all the routes, as in all the veins in the shell go to the same end point.

The scallop shell.

Pilgrims hang a scallop shell from the back of their backpacks.

Our backpacks with our shells.  Our shells, like many, have the cross of St James painted in red.

The trail is marked signs and markers containing the shell. There is shell artwork all along the way. Here are some examples: